IPhone battery replacement plan under fire

A consumer advocacy group has expressed outrage over Apple Inc.'s battery replacement program for the iPhone.

On the day of the phone's release, the Foundation for Consumer and Taxpayer Rights fired off a letter to Apple and AT&T Inc., the Cell phone's exclusive carrier, complaining that customers were being left in the dark about the procedure and cost of replacing the gadget's battery.

The iPhone's battery is apparently soldered on inside the device and cannot be swapped out by the owner like most other cell phones.

Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Hakes said Thursday the company posted the battery replacement details on its Web site last Friday after the product went on sale.

Users would have to submit their iPhone to Apple for battery service. The service will cost users $79, plus $6.95 for shipping, and will take three business days.

The procedure is similar to the one it has for the company's best-selling iPod players, but because some users will not want to live without their cell phones, Apple is also offering a loaner iPhone for $29 while the gadget is under repair.

The service is also similar to the iPod in that all data is cleared from the iPhone during the replacement process, so you have to make sure that you back up all data on the device before sending it in. Apple says the iPhone battery is good for between 300 to 400 charges before performance will start to decline, which generally is the case for any lithium-ion battery over time.

Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based consumer watchdog group that wrote the letter last week, contends the iPhone's battery and repair costs should have been clearly disclosed earlier.

The company outlined its cellular service rates and many other features of the iPhone in advance of its launch, which drew snaking lines around stores across the country.

"Some of them might be waking up now," Rosenfield said, "wondering who they got in bed with."

Apple did not have an immediate comment on the consumer group's concerns.

20 user comments

I would never buy any electrical gadget (no matter how pretty) where I couldn't change something as simple as a battery. Eventually you got to change the battery. I do believe some people got caught up in the excitement and didn't even bother to ask what size battery it takes?, "which is the first thing I want to know when buying electronics". I do think changing the battery's on these phones will be a major revenue source for this company longterm.

Yea, they probably build this device the same way they have built their ipods. With built-in obsolescence so that it would break down after the warranty expires so that the consumer would get stuck with paying the repairs or will have to buy a new device.

Wait your telling me after the 600 bucks for the phone I gotta sink another 86 bucks in it for a battery?!?! Oh and I forgot about the COST of me shipping it to them which could be anywhere from 7-20 bucks depending on where it's going. What a freakin joke.

Apple Stores do not fix iPods either. If you have AppleCare (their extended warranty program) then you can have the device exchanged on the spot. Otherwise, the Apple Store will send the device back to Apple, for a charge, just like Apple's website. In my experience, good luck getting ANYTHING covered which deals with the battery.

Some people don't get it. The major issue with the I Phone was the secrecy with anything having to do with the battery. They wouldn't even say how long it lasted on a regular. Red flags should have popped up. But I guess some people have pop up blockers. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Pop up blockers.

Another prime exampel of how APPLE! are money greedy B**tards that will cone ppl into stuff. But frankly i think people who bought this stupid device in the first place diservre this, because heck they are idiots, this technology is definatly not needed! WE HAVE PDA'S if u do want soemthign liek this!

who was the genius to think this one up,a 1-3 cent plug on a 3-9 cent plug on the ipod will somehow make you money when people start to boycott it,don't you morons know you'll just lose rep from this BS..oh wait your selling to the woolies who are dumber than sheeple....n/m.......

Well the best thing about this article thats not even directly related is Nokia bought the license for touch screen and will probably make a damn good phone thats very useful and easy to use and will have a GOOD BATTERY lmao. Apple is good for somethings but i dont think you trust a company who is taking its first shot in a market they have never explored like phones. When i think of Apple i immediately think of the MAC and OS-10 and Ipods. I dont think phones. So yeah those whom jumped on this phone to be the first got pimped and should be smarter then they were the next time a new phone hits the market from a company that doesnt specialize in that field.

$600 computers at retail sold for $1200 because of a LOGO and an OS (And people talk about the Windows Tax!)
Battery Replacement Issues with previous devices

I'm sorry but anybody who rushed in and bought one of these phones deserves the expense and added costs that they get down the road.

While they're paying close to $100 bucks to swap out the battery and do without THEIR phone and then have to reload the phonebook, the songs, the games, all the fun and fancy things that people want this phone for (I sure hope they backed it all up! Or more money back to Apple when they repurchase it LOL) I'll be sliding open the easy access panel and putting a new battery in MYSELF for CONSIDERABLY less money and less headache..

Now let the fanbois tell me how this is no big deal and how it's a priviledge to jump through these hoops, for the ability to own something from the All Holy Jobs...even to give Him their money over and over again (gee, this sounds like a cult!)

Ah well ducknrun....thats where youre wrong.If you do it yourself then that'll no doubt void a warranty of some sort.So glad we havent got this shyte in the UK yet.But itll come.Theyll be queuing for it.

Ok, as always I know the GEEK skies of heaven and hell will rain upon me for the following comment.
First, I bought the 3g iPhone, knowing about this absolutely stupid $69 charge for AppleCare, with covers the iPhone for an extra year however, by doing so, I assure myself another iPhone and new battery during the 23rd month. So, you GEEKs, untwist your face, just for a moment, see apple's terms and conditions under AppleCare extended warrenty states, that a new battery will be replaced as long as 50% of its usefullness is used up. Now, it is also known, that 300 min and 400 max charge cycles are the low and high. In a 23 month usage, lets say that for 30 days time 23 months equals 690 cycles if every day it was charged, unlikely but that is the max, it will fall to 50% far before that 23rd month. If this occurs anytime before then, take it in and the battery is replace but in all such cases, you get another iPhone immediately. So please stop with the 3 day crap. All information is gone from the iPhone because in fact, all information, is re established, everytime you sync to iTunes anyway, unless this option is disabled.
In reality, you sync, the iPhone, at the store, immediately with your Apple account ID and PSW, before your leave the store, you have a new battery, an replacement iPhone which has your unique stuff downloaded from iTunes you have just because that is what iTunes does.
So, while, $69, is a bunch of crap, to pay for the battery and the service to change it, it is not that much more than other phone batteries and they, Apple Service does it for you, takes all responsibility for correctness and you go on with your life.
So, to have the phone which has the most SDK apps being written for it, daily, monthly and yearly, it is worth the money.
Please, tell me or ask me any questions on iPhone, iPod or OS X, I consider myself an Apple GEEK convert from Windows. I think that if the world was Mac and iPhone, then we would have a much more intelligent world with less effort to get there, our children would be making more music, books, movies, video conferences and everything else I could teach them to do in a world network using the iMac, OS X and iPhone platform.